Force feedback system for bead exerciser

Abstract

A bead exerciser system for an automated wheel assembly may include a center lift configured to lift a wheel assembly off of a conveyor belt, a drum roller configured to rotate the wheel assembly, a pair of pinch rollers driven by a driver and configured to apply force to a tire of the wheel assembly, a force sensor configured to detect a force of the tire against the pinch rollers, and a controller configured to receive the force from the force sensor and generate a command for an alert in response to the force falling outside of a predefined threshold range.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A bead exerciser system for an automated wheel assembly, comprising:
 a center lift configured to lift a wheel assembly off of a conveyor belt; 
 a drum roller configured to rotate the wheel assembly; 
 a pair of pinch rollers driven by a driver and configured to apply force to a tire of the wheel assembly; 
 a feedback component configured to detect a force of the tire against the pinch rollers; and 
 a controller configured to receive the force from the feedback component and generate a command for an alert in response to the force falling outside of a predefined threshold range. 
 
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the threshold range includes one of an upper threshold and a lower threshold. 
     
     
       3. The system of  claim 2 , wherein the alert includes a low tire pressure alert in response to the received force falling below the lower threshold. 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 2 , wherein the alert includes a force warning in response to the received force exceeding the upper threshold. 
     
     
       5. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the feedback component is a torque sensor. 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to receive actuator data indicative of a position of the pinch rollers. 
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 6 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine the predefined threshold based on the received position of the pinch rollers. 
     
     
       8. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to cease operating the pinch rollers in response to the force falling outside of a predefined threshold range. 
     
     
       9. A bead exerciser system for an automated wheel assembly, comprising:
 a drum roller configured to rotate a wheel assembly; 
 a pair of pinch rollers arranged on an opposite side of the wheel assembly than the drum roller, the pinch rollers driven by a driver and configured to apply force to a tire of the wheel assembly; 
 a controller configured to
 instruct the pinch rollers to apply a force until a predefined threshold is reached; and 
 store a pinch-roller distance between the pinch rollers in response to the predefined threshold being reached in a memory. 
 
 
     
     
       10. The system of  claim 9 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine whether a previously stored distance is stored within the memory and update the memory with the pinch-roller distance in response to the determining that a previously stored distance is stored within the memory. 
     
     
       11. The system of  claim 10 , wherein the controller is further configured to generate a command for an alert in response to the force falling outside of the predefined threshold for the wheel assembly. 
     
     
       12. The system of  claim 11 , wherein the predefined threshold includes a range defining an upper threshold and a lower threshold. 
     
     
       13. The system of  claim 12 , wherein the alert includes a low tire pressure alert in response to the force falling below the lower threshold. 
     
     
       14. The system of  claim 12 , wherein the alert includes force warning in response to the force exceeding the upper threshold. 
     
     
       15. The system of  claim 9 , wherein the controller is further configured to receive actuator data indicative of a position of the pinch rollers. 
     
     
       16. The system of  claim 15 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine the predefined threshold based on the received position of the pinch rollers.